“The first two years have been monumentally terrific and nearly perfect,” said Jared Thompson, co-director of the Limestone Comedy Festival and owner of the Comedy Attic. “It’s an experience you just can’t ?replicate.”
The Limestone Comedy Festival offers a variety of tickets, ranging from individual show tickets, priced from $20 to $30 depending on the show, and the “VVIIPP” Badge, which includes brunch with the artists, reserved seats in the front for all shows and invitation to the VIP after-party for $175.
All festival shows are suggested for ages 18-years-old and older, with shows at the Bishop and the Back Door limited to 21-years-old and older.
Tickets for small venue shows are based on seat availability and will be available at the door 30 minutes before the show for $10. Only cash will be accepted.
“We try to put on a world-class event for our hometown and at the same time showcase what an amazing place Bloomington is to the people who come in from out of town for the festival,” Co-Director of the Limestone Comedy Festival Mat Alano-Martin said.
Alano-Martin said performing at comedy festivals and noting what he liked and did not like, combined with the feeling that he could design a festival that was a better experience for both performers and attendees led to the creation of the Limestone Comedy Festival.
“We wanted to take our time and name the festival something interesting that had cultural significance,” Thompson said. “After much deliberation, we decided that limestone had such significance to our area, and we liked the way it sounded and flowed.”
Thompson said having shows at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater and Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center lends credibility to those who may think stand-up is not art, while having shows at the Bishop and the Back Door lends credibility to those who think comedy is lame.
“By now, most everyone in the area that likes art has seen a show at the Comedy Attic, so this just magnifies that experience over three days,” he said.
Janeane Garofalo, an Emmy-nominated actress, will open the 2015 Limestone Comedy Festival. She has appeared in “Mystery Men,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Truth About Cats and Dogs,” “The Ben Stiller Show” and more. She preforms at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Buskirk-Chumley.
Kyle Kinane has a long-standing relationship with Comedy Central, appearing in Drunk History, the game show ”@midnight,” of which he is a seven-time winner, and 2014 animated series “TripTank.” He preforms at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley.
Michael Che is a staff writer on “Saturday Night Live,” a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” co-star in the film “Top Five” and became the first black anchor on the Weekend Update sketch in “Saturday Night Live.” He will be performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley.
Doug Benson recently began focusing on creating podcasts instead of performing stand-up comedy. He currently is the host on the popular “Doug Loves Movies” podcast, along with his weekly marijuana-themed video podcast show “Getting Doug With High.” He will be performing at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirck-Chumley.
Tom Brady, a Bloomington native and IU graduate, started his career at the Comedy Attic and is the only two-time winner of the Bloomington Comedy Festival. He preforms at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Bishop.
Chad Daniels is a veteran performer at the Comedy Attic. He has his own half-hour Comedy Central special, has had appearances on numerous late night shows and on the “Bob and Tom Show.” He preforms at 7:30 p.m. at the Comedy Attic on Saturday.
To see a complete list of Limestone Comedy Festival performers, please visit the event’s official website limestonefest.com.
